Design parameters of a shallow bed solar crop dryer with reflector

In this communication, energy balance equations for a passive solar crop dryer with shallow bed, including the effect of a reflector placed over the wall of the chimney, have been written in terms of design and climatic parameters. The effects of thermal storage and the crop have also been taken into account. Analytical expressions for the outlet air temperature of the collector and the temperature of the storage material and the crop have been derived. On the basis of the analytical results, it is observed that the drying time is significantly reduced due to the increase in thermal energy on the collector by the reflector.